


The Wonder Years

by LuffysBiggestFangirl



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Afterlife, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:53:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24608026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuffysBiggestFangirl/pseuds/LuffysBiggestFangirl
Summary: As the last Bella left, Emily reflects on old memories...
Relationships: Benji Applebaum/Emily Junk, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	The Wonder Years

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Twigs Like You (GothAlbinoAngel)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothAlbinoAngel/gifts).



> Hi, guys! It’s Em here with another Pitch Perfect fanfiction since you all enjoyed Baby Bella! Here’s another one with Emily as the main character since she is my favorite! ^_^ And yes this story will have slight nods to Baby Bella but not too much XP
> 
> Although this fic isn’t as angsty as Baby Bella though it does have SOME angst given the summary and premise of the story so hopefully you all enjoy semi-futuristic Pitch Perfect fic!
> 
> Honestly there needs to be more fanfics depicting Emily’s bond with the Bellas which is sadly a handful but hey that’s why I’m here! ^_^
> 
> Now without further ado, let the story begin already! ^_^

Ninety five year old Emily Junk smiled to herself as she got ready for bed.

“Well I guess it really is time to hit the hay, huh?” Emily asked with amusement clear in her old voice though there was a twinge of sadness in it as unlike years prior, she would be going to bed by herself.

The reason? Her husband Benji Applebaum had passed away a year ago peacefully in his sleep.

To say Emily was devastated would be an understatement. After all, with the passing of Benji, this meant the Legacy Barden Bella was now truly alone.

Why? Her eyes darted to a picture she made sure to always take care of and never let get too dusty.

The framed picture of her and her sisters, the Barden Bellas, back when she was eighteen when they had all won the Worlds competition together. Despite all the naysayers and hate thrown their eye, they overcame nearly impossible odds. All because they had each other, confided in and relied on each other.

Despite not being blood related, they were all still her big sisters…..

Emily smiled as the day of when she first met the Barden Bellas rang through her head.

Eighteen year old Emily Junk rang the doorbell to the Barden Bella household, eager at the chance of hoping to audition in front of the Barden Bellas and hoping to impress them so she could follow her mother’s footsteps of being a Barden Bella.

Emily Junk’s heart nearly stopped at the sight of the legendary Fat Amy standing before her.

“Sorry, my boobs are hanging out.” Amy apologized as she fixed her shirt, not seeming all that bothered at the comment she made. While most people would have walked away after such a bizarre statement, Emily decided to compose herself. After all, this was one of the Barden Bellas!!

“Uh…I was hoping for a chance to audition for you all?” Emily kindly asked as Amy just looked at her as if she were a hobo off the street.

“Nah, can’t help you. We’re not allowed to take anyone new.” Amy bluntly stated before slowly making her leave.

“No, wait! I’m a Junk!” Emily tried calling after her as another girl suddenly made her appearance, looking at Emily curiously.

“What’d you say about your Junk?” Cynthia Rose Adams asked with clear interest in her voice as Emily blinked in confusion though she was grateful towards this girl for letting her in.

As the other Bellas made their appearance in the room, Emily cocked an eyebrow as she noticed everyone but Beca Mitchell wasn’t around. Though she was slightly disappointed at that, Chloe Beale was still there and from what Emily had read and seen from her, she was just as much of human sunshine as she was.

“Who are you?” Chloe asked as all the other Bellas looked at her with expressions full of curiousity.

“I’m Emily Junk. Now I know my last name is weird but my dad’s name is Harding which sounds like Hard-on so.” Emily shrugged not at all bothered by that and was silly enough to think that no one else would mind a blunt statement that she though was harmless.

The bewildered expressions from everyone except from the Asian girl proved that she was very sadly mistaken.

However once the surprise wore off, everyone was kind enough to let her audition as they all waited, watched and listened patiently and expectantly and even gave her reassuring smiles that they weren’t intimidating. At least indirectly anyways.

After some talking and hearing of “Giraffe Legs” from Fat Amy who told everyone not to be rude when discussing her though ironically the only rude comments came from her, it slightly bothered her how they were discussing her with her being in the room but then Emily probably assumed that they assumed she would probably excuse herself, Emily then noticed as Chloe ordered them to all decide whether she was in or out which was honestly even more nerve wracking than when she took her Calculus final the following year since she never really paid attention to notes and the pitches they made.

As they all sung a note that sounded unanimous, Emily noticed them all starting to crowd around her as Emily was quick to notice how the short Guatemalan girl, the blonde and brunette duo who looked attached from the hip and the girl with auburn colored hair who was two inches taller than her looked like they were trying to suppress their smiles while Chloe, Fat Amy and Cynthia Rose looked like they were trying to intimidate her, playfully Emily assumed, while the Asian girl looked as blank faced as always.

Before Emily noticed anything, she noticed all of them smiling at her as Chloe gleefully announced, “Welcome to the Bellas!!” as all the Bellas smiled along with either cheering or dancing.

“OH EM ACA GEE!!” Emily squealed before doing a victory dance as the Bellas all stared at each hair with expressions full of confusion and bewilderment, realizing this mysterious girl was just as crazy as them if not crazier. So much for having a calm, collected person. Though ironically the blonde and the brunette, Chloe and the Asian girl were smiling as if to encourage her energy.

“So when’s initiation? My mom told me you all hold me down while sipping wine through a Maxi-Pad, right?” Emily asked as the Bellas all looked at each other as they wondered if this girl was truly on something.

“Well we don’t have a Maxi-Pad to spare so…..” Amy rolled her eyes before turning to everyone who quickly got over their shock of Emily’s quirks.

“Alright, pack your bags ladies! We have a trip to Copenhagen and a brand new Bella!” Fat Amy grinned as she hugged Emily tightly as they all cheered, eager at having a new Bella as this girl had definitely showed potential to be a good song singer along with being a good way to keep the legacy of the Barden Bellas alive after they graduate the following year.

Emily smiled as tears came to her eyes as she looked over the faces of her sisters, even if they weren’t blood related.

Beca, Chloe, Amy, Stacie, Aubrey, Jessica, Ashley, Cynthia Rose, Lilly and Flo…..

Her freshman year at Bella was one of the best years of her life if not the best year of her life. For the first time in years, she had felt genuinely accepted for who she was, even if they tended to tease her every now and then. Especially Amy who was real good for that.

The only time that came just as close as enjoyable to the daughter of Katherine Junk was their trip for the USO tour.

Thankfully the Bellas were there to clear up any confusion that Emily may have thought about not being included in their trip.

“Those girls….they….were the best friends a girl could ask for….” Emily smiled as a tear ran down her face as she thought about her relationship with each individual Bella.

Without Chloe, Emily never would have even been in the Bellas since none of the other girls had even knew about who her mother even was. And while she may have her disagreements with Chloe such as the riff off incident or causing confusion with the Bellas performing with them at the Georgia Aquarium, Chloe was always there serving as a second mother behind her actual mother, always being someone for Emily to either confide in, vent to or ask for comfort or advice.

Beca was definitely the Bella that Emily seemed to think was the most intimidating and hardest to win over but Beca quickly warmed to her, defending her from Chloe’s wrath after the botched Riff-Off incident and even becoming somewhat of a dad figure to her as she was always threatening to kick Benji’s ass if he ever hurt her. And after collaborating together on the song that helped them win Worlds, it was safe to say Emily had gotten yet another friend to rely on.

Her relationship with Amy was definitely the most interesting one of the Bellas. What, with her blunt and sarcastic attitude coupled with her tendency to call her a dumbass, mainly on their USO tour leading to Emily getting fed up and asking her what the deal as Amy apologized, revealing the reason was due to her daddy issues coming back and her using Emily as a way to vent that frustration on, and as such the two quickly made up with Amy promising to drop her “dumb roasting” and despite her ups and downs with Amy, Emily knew that Amy liked her beneath all of that bull crap. It was especially easy for Emily to wrap Amy around her finger whenever she called her “Patricia” and Amy was more than to serve the role as a protective, supportive big sister to Emily who oddly kept her grounded at the same time.

Stacie was someone who was always there for Emily whenever she needed it, especially when it came to romance, either with boys or girls as Stacie was quick to reassure her that she would be accepted regardless. Stacie was the older sister figure that Emily had always imagined having as a young girl as Stacie was the Bella Emily would either go to whenever she had a bad day, wanted to play video games with, talk about boys with or just lounge around and chill with.

Despite all the stories she heard from the other Bellas about her, Emily felt it would be fair to judge Aubrey upon meeting her on her own merits rather than having her feelings be dictated to her. Upon meeting her on her retreat, she knew that despite her tough demeanor, Aubrey Posen was one of the kindest and most supportive people Emily had ever had the pleasure of meeting and during the USO Tour, Emily was more than certain that Aubrey was the most supportive of her during that trip with Emily being one hundred percent certain that Aubrey definitely had the most patience for her.

Cynthia Rose was as protective over Emily as Amy and Beca were, always threatening to knock anybody’s lights out if they dared hurt her. Emily found that like Stacie, Cynthia Rose was a great person to go to for romantic advice, though Cynthia Rose had hoped that Emily would find her a nice girl and Cynthia Rose seemed to sense something between Aubrey and Emily and whenever Emily needed someone to talk to, it was safe to say that Cynthia Rose was more than happy to have Emily’s back.

Despite being weirded out by her, Emily knew that Lilly or Ester apparently, had nothing but her best interests in mind and if it came too, Lilly would definitely come to her side whenever she needed it.

Flo was great in amusing Emily with her stories as Emily seemed to be the most receptive to her stories as well as being able to cheer up Emily whenever she was down in the dumps such as whenever Emily would go to anywhere in the house to be alone, since she knew all the ins and outs of the house due to being so tiny, Flo would locate Emily in less than a minute and stay by her side to keep her company as well as talk to her whenever need be.

Jessica and Ashley were nothing but a package deal for Emily. A deal full of unconditional love and hugs as they had instantly taken her under her wing so she wouldn’t feel as….in the background like they were. The duo had helped her crunch for difficult exams, stop any slezeballs from hitting on her and would often act as a safe space for her to confide to and she would do the same as well as often squishing her in a tight hug whenever she just needed a hug. Ironically enough, Emily was the only one who could identify them.

Those days were long gone but they were days that Emily would never, ever forget.

“You all….I can’t believe you’re all gone….my sisters….my family….” Emily frowned as tears cascaded down her cheeks as she they all hit the picture, ironically the tears hit the faces of each of the Bellas.

“I miss you all so much…I’ll never forget all the memories we made….” Emily softly sobbed as her mind replayed the night after they won Worlds.

“Holy crap! I can’t believe we won Worlds!!” Emily grinned as Chloe happily spun her around in a hug.

“We won because of YOU!” Chloe grinned her trademark bubbly smile.

“…Because of me??” Emily blinked as Beca grinned the broadest she had ever seen from her.

“Of course, nerd. If it wasn’t for your song we never would’ve won.” Beca grinned as Emily was taken aback, not knowing what to say.

“We’re all proud of you. You embody what it is to be a real Bella.” Aubrey smiled as she put a hand on her fellow tall girl’s shoulder.

“A real Bella??” Emily blinked.

“Damn right. While we all had lost our harmony, you kept preserving with your never ending optimism and positivity. We’re proud of you, newbie.” Stacie grinned.

“In my country, positivity is a sign of the gods.” Flo pointed out as all the girls just stared at her puzzledly as they always did whenever she said something bizarre.

“You guys….” Emily teared up, never having as much support as she had gotten before joining the Barden Bellas.

Jessica and Ashley both gave her comforting pats on the shoulder as Beca cleared her throat, getting eveyrone’s attention as they all turned to Emily.

“Emily….you’ve really come a long way over this last year and you’ve really made us proud. And because of that….” Beca fishes in her pocket before pulling out something that made Emily’s eyebrows raise in realization.

“The Bellas are yours now, Emily. Take care of them. We know you’ll do well.” Beca smiled as Emily’s eyes filled with tears as the Bellas give her sentimental smiles.

“I promise! I’ll lead the Bellas to victory!” Emily beamed as tears left her eyes.

“We know you will.” Chloe smiled as she tightly held the taller girl in her arms.

“GROUP HUG!!” Amy announced as everyone hugged their youngest member.

“We sure had a lot of fun, didn’t we?” Emily smiled through her tears as her mind flashed to her graduation that took place after their USO tour.

“I’m so proud of you, Em! You’ve finally graduated college!” Chloe smiled despite the tears leaving her eyes as all the Bellas stood in the Barden University courtyard following the graduation of one Emily Junk.

“You’ve done well, kid. You’re the best Legacy we got.” Beca commented with a surprisingly big smile. Then again, Beca always had a soft spot for the young Legacy.

“Thanks, Becs!” Emily grinned as all the Bellas all stared at their youngest member with looks of adoration and love in their eyes.

“You always were too smart for your own good, Junk.” Amy grinned as Emily laughed. After the USO tour, Amy decided to drop the “dumb” comments since she figured it was time to cut the BS out and reveal how smart she always thought Emily was.

Emily merely giggled in response as Stacie put a hand on her shoulder with holding Bella in her other arm.

“C’mon guys! Group pic with Em!” Stacie grinned as everyone cheered.

“That sounds good!” Emily beamed through her green graduation robes as everyone got around Emily though Beca and Chloe stood the closest on opposing sides to Emily.

“Alright guys…1…2…3…” Chloe began.

“BELLAS FOR LIFE!!” All the Bellas yelled as it was finally time for Emily to join them in the real world. While at first it would seem frightening to a newbie, Emily surprisingly wasn’t too scared.

After all, how many people had ten women to look out for them??

“And then….there was my wedding….” Emily’s eyes traveled to the picture of her and Benji during their wedding.

Katherine Junk was sobbing her eyes out as she eagerly awaited seeing her daughter being wed to the man that she loved.

The Bellas all stood proud and excited as they were chosen to be Emily’s bridesmaids, much to the surprise of virtually no one though Ashley and Jessica were chosen as Emily’s maids of honor due to them being the closest to the young Legacy.

Eventually the wedding music started as Emily was escorted down the wedding aisle, arm and arm with her father before she met her fiancée who looked at her with a face full of adoration as she returned his expression with one of love and longing.

“Thank you for coming today to see one and all to see the union of Emily Junk and Benji Applebaum. If we can have the ring bearer?” The minister asked as Jesse walked up with the wedding ring.

“Now, do you Emily take Benji to be your lawfully wedded husband? For richer and for poor? For better and for worst?” The minister asked Emily whose face told everyone her answer.

“I do.” Emily smiled.

“And do you Benji take Emily to be your lawfully wedded wife? For richer and for poor? For better and for worst?” The minister questioned as Benji surprisingly was able to keep his tongue and not speak any gibberish.

“I do.” Benji smiled more confident than any other time than he had ever been in in his life.

“Then by the power invested in me, I hereby pronounce Benji and Emily, husband and wife!” The minister announced as the entire audience went wild.

“About time.” Beca smirked.

“Finally! Benimily’s canon!” Amy smirked as everyone shot Amy a bizarre look though unlike the other times, they stared at her in amusement.

“W-wor…W-we….really….” Benji could barely breathe, losing his confident edge as Emily giggled.

“Oh shut up and kiss me.” Emily grinned, taking his collar and pulling him in for another kiss as everyone went wild for the newlyweds…..

“And then shortly after came the birth of my first child….” Emily sadly smiled as her mind flashed to the birth of her first child.

“UGH!! UNH!!! ARGH!!!!” Emily shouted out as nothing compared to the pain of giving birth. Not even christening the stairs was this painful.

“Emily, you can do this!” Benji said in reassurance, holding his wife’s hand.

“Yeah, you got this. You’re the captain of the Barden Bellas who took over them as a sophomore and led them to victory several years!” Aubrey held Emily’s other hand with the Bellas being in the room, wanting to be there for their baby Bella as Stacie stood close to Emily, giving the shorter girl a look of empathy as she no doubt went through the same pain with Bella.

“Em, calm down. You got giraffe legs, that’s punishment enough.” Amy tried teasing though the looks of everyone told her “Shut it”, which Emily promptly decided to verbalize.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP AMY BEFORE I SHOVE THIS IV BAG THROUGH YOUR VAGINA!!” Emily roared as Amy gulped.

“…Sorry…” Amy meekly apologized as the labor continued before a loud baby’s crying rang through the ears of everyone in the room as there were no dry eyes in the room, especially from Emily, Benji and Mr and Mrs. Junk.

“Congratulations! It’s a healthy baby girl!” The doctor joyfully announced as the Bellas decided to take this time to argue names for Emily’s baby as Stacie rolled her eyes remembering how the same thing happened when Bella was born.

“Mommy, what’re they fighting about?” A three year old Bella asked her mom who smiled.

“Nothing, honey.” Stacie pat her daughter’s head as these girls were definitely crazy. But that’s why she loved them.

“Name her Jessley! We did the most looking out for you!” Ashley and Jessica practically said in unison.

“No name her after me! I was practically your mentor during the whole USO tour!” Aubrey yelled.

“No name her Amy Jr. I’m your fav after all.” Amy smirked as Emily giggled though Katherine was unamused and tired of everyone’s nonsense.

“QUIET!!” Katherine yelled as everyone did just that.

“Yeah….Em and I already came up with a name for the baby if it was a boy or girl.” Benji smiled as Emily grinned.

“Yep….her name will be Olivia.” Emily announced as everyone seemed receptive of that.

“Olivia?? Cool!? Like my little sister!?” Bella asked excitedly as everyone laughed at the young girl’s enthusiasm.

“Yes, Bella. You can look out for Olivia just as the Bellas looked out for me.” Emily smiled as Benji was about to take his newborn daughter into his arms before….

“HANDS OFF, NERD! MOTHERS FIRST!” Amy tactlessly snatched Olivia from Benji’s arms as everyone giggled at Amy. Somethings would never change as Olivia was given to her mother.

“Olivia….I promise to always love and protect you no matter what….and you don’t have just me…but you have your daddy….your grandma, your grandpa and ten crazy aunts behind your back.” Emily smiled as everyone teared up at her words.

“Aca-Lutely!” Aubrey grinned as everyone shared a good laugh at her words.

“And then….you all were there for me after mom passed…” Emily’s smile sagged as the day of her mother’s passing suddenly came to her.

A Fifty-Three year old Emily Junk sobbed over her mother’s body as she passed away in her sleep with a soft smile symbolizing how happy she was with everything she had accomplished in her lifetime with her biggest accomplishment being how successful her daughter was.

“Em?” Emily turned to see her sisters stand before her with solemn expressions on their faces as Chloe opened her arms.

Emily wasted no time, running to the red head’s arms as she sobbed in them with Chloe rubbing her back comfortably. The SECOND the Bellas heard the news from Emily in the Bellas group chat, they instantly rushed over, not giving a damn what kind of traffic laws they broke.

“There, there, Em. It’s gonna be okay…” Aubrey soothed, getting in on the hug.

Emily’s response were muffled sobs.

“Do the kids know?” Ashley asked as Emily managed to speak for the first time since her mother passed from this life into the next one.

“N-no…..Olivia is still at work along with Paisley, Lucas and Grayson….I was gonna tell them when I get off…” Emily muttered as the girls all frowned, knowing their youngest member was in pain.

“Em…we’re so sorry….” Jessica tightly hugged her fellow taller girl as Emily was silent before nodding.

“Em….we know it sucks your mom is gone but you gotta remember one thing……” Stacie reminded Emily who looked at her.

“What?” Emily asked as the Bellas all smiled despite their ages showing.

“You still have us. Bellas for life!” Chloe smiled. Despite nearly being sixty years old, Chloe was just as beautiful as the day when Emily first met the now grey head.

“R-right!” Emily smiled for the first time since her mother had died.

As Emily continued looking at the different photos on her nightstand, what hurt arguably even worse than her mother passing away was when her sisters all passed away. She would never forget….Chloe’s passing….

“Hehe…..you look…..just happy…” Chloe joked despite her slowly fading condition as Emily stared sadly, barely managing to smile at the moment taking place five years before the prior moment.

If it wasn’t for Chloe, Emily wouldn’t have even been in the Bellas.

“Em….lemme just start off by saying….how proud I am of you…you’ve come so far….I’ve had my moments where I’ve not been the best to you….like the failed Riff-Off incident….but I’ve always loved you and considered you not just a friend but my little sister…all of our little sisters….” Chloe smiled as everyone was smiling through their tears as they realized soon their leader would leave them forever….

“Chlo….” Beca sobbed, feeling more pain than when her mother had left.

“Thank you, Em….all of you….for an amazing life…..we’ll…see….each….other….again….” Chloe smiled as her eyes closed for the last time as everyone all sobbed for the loss of their old Barden Bella leader.

“And then….one by one…all of you…left….” Emily held her chest as racked sobs, broke her down.

“I miss you…all of you…so much….” Emily sorrowfully wept as not a day went by when she didn’t miss her sisters. She may have had her downs with them, primarily the confusion with them thinking they’d be performing with her and her Bellas but they were always there for her to cheer her up, talk to, confide in and just act like sisters. It was them that had given her a place to belong and made her feel wanted and accepted for who she was for the first time since Elementary School.

Despite missing them, she kept herself in good health as she had kids, grandkids and even great-grandkids to be there for.

And as such, she closed her eyes for a relatively comfortable sleep so she could wake to another day.

Though recently she noticed her health had been declining with her having a violent cough, this even leading her to cough blood at times, she still managed to keep herself around.

As much as she missed her sisters, little did she know she’d be getting a reunion with them, sooner than she may have anticipated.

As Emily opened her eyes she noticed something was different. First off, she wasn’t in her room but in a blank, unending area.

“What the??” Emily asked before noticing something else, her voice didn’t sound raspy and elderly but young and energetic, almost like a teenager.

Much to her confusion, she noticed she wasn’t wearing her nightgown but the same tank top and black jeans she was wearing the night of her initiation.

“What in the??” Emily asked before noticing none of her wrinkles were around and she looked just like the eighteen year old she was when she first joined Barden.

She didn’t have much time to be surprised when several footsteps got her attention as she turned around before seeing several figures that made her eyes fill with tears of happiness.

“N-no way!” Emily gasped out.

“Bout time you got here nerd.” A twenty one year old Beca smirked as she was surrounded with Emily’s other sisters; Chloe, Stacie, Amy, Aubrey, Jessica, Ashley, Cynthia Rose, Lilly and Flo all clad in the same outfits they were on the day they met Emily.

Emily was just silent as tears left her eyes as her sisters smiled at her.

“You gonna stand there all day or you gonna come here?” Aubrey smirked.

“Yeah, now come here and give us a hug, Em.” Stacie smiled, opening her arms with the other Bellas as Emily wasted no time in glomping her sisters.

“Oh quit crying you wimp.” Amy teased as Emily smiled through her tears.

“I-I….really….missed you guys…” Emily wiped her eyes as she couldn’t stop smiling though everyone looked like they had a few tears in their eyes.

“Finally…we’re all together.” Flo smiled.

“Remember what we all said Em?” Chloe grinned as Emily smiled.

“BELLAS FOR LIFE!” All eleven Bellas happily stated.

**Author's Note:**

> Whew don’t we all love angsty stores with happy endings!? ^_^
> 
> Yeah I felt like this story was necessary since there are some stories that seem to imply that Emily is either left out of the Bellas because they want to exclude her or stories that like to say that the Bellas tolerate Emily while not liking her or that the Bellas act cliquey to Emily which I believe is VERY, VERY inaccurate. After all, they were all happy to reassure Emily that they see her as a true Bella and not a Legacy during Aubrey’s retreat as well as being very happy to see her again after three years in PP3 and that wouldn’t happen if Emily had a bad relationship with the Bellas and also, Emily has NEVER felt excluded or unloved.
> 
> That’s Ashley and Jessica’s roles after all XD
> 
> Oh well, either way I hope you all enjoyed this story and I’ll see you all in the next Pitch Perfect story I’ll make!
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts on this story and I’ll see you all in the next story! ^_^


End file.
